The All-NFL "Good Guys" Team: Offense

It’s easy to write about NFL players who have thrown away their talents with poor decisions, a la Michael Vick, and I will admit that I personally love reading and writing about it.

But what about the NFL players that do the exact opposite? I’m talking about the guys who help out in the community and selflessly give, despite the fact that their actions will probably never be publicized nationally.

The time has come for that to change.

Onterrio Smith getting more publicity for his Whizzinator incident than Warrick Dunn got for founding his two charities is criminal.

So, which active players make the list for my “Good Guys” Team?

Let’s start with the offense.

Here’s a list of my starters with their team, and a link to their respective foundations, if they have a website (they deserve some free publicity).

*Note: some players may be placed out of position (OG vs. OT), due to the fact that they are still undeniably deserving to make this list.*

Almost anyone who follows football knows about Warrick Dunn on the field, but he may also be the all-around best guy the league has ever seen.

Dunn founded the Warrick Dunn Foundation, which gives money to various charities, and has raised over $5,000,000 in his efforts.

He also founded the Homes for the Holidays program, which helps single parents purchase homes. Since founding this program in 2004, Dunn has helped 45 single parents and over 120 children in Atlanta, Baton Rouge, and Tampa.

Chris Chambers is a guy you don’t hear about as often as Warrick Dunn, or even Jeff Garcia, for his off-field actions, but you’re going to hear about him now.

C.A.T.C.H. (Children Achieving Through Community Help) 84 was founded by Chambers and his family in 2005 to help children from single-parent families look past their current situations to realize success.

Each year, Chambers’ organization partners with Key Bank to award a college scholarship to a high-school senior in the Cleveland area, Chris’ hometown.

Daniel Wilcox doesn’t get much attention on the field, but his actions off of it are well-known by those in the Baltimore community, since many people in the area have been directly affected by it.

Wilcox founded the “Empowerment M.I.N.D.S. (Motivating and Inspiring Neighborhoods Determined to Succeed) in January of 2006, which encourages youth to hold leadership roles in their community.

Wilcox has also taken part in countless charitable activities, including distributing over 100 Thanksgiving baskets in a southwest Baltimore neighborhood, appearing in various schools across Baltimore, and helping the NFL with both its United Way and Habitat for Humanity programs.

Matt Katula is a name not known by many, but Matt is perfectly fine with that.

As it says on the front page of his site: “The only way you should know who I am is if I mess up.”

And that is true, since Katula is a long snapper for the Ravens, quite possibly the least-hyped position in the game.

But that hasn’t stopped Katula from helping out in his community.

In 2007, Katula founded the “Matt Katula Foundation,” aimed at providing growth and support for community sports programs, as well as helping children that require financial support and guidance to achieve their goals.

Grey Ruegamer has started only one game in his two seasons with the Giants, but he is one of the most active and charitable players in the league today.

Ruegamer founded “Ruegy’s Readers” to create well-rounded students through literacy by providing extra support to schools.

Each year, Ruegamer picks five elementary schools and donates $3,000 in new books to their library. He also selects two students, who get to choose one book from the list donated, and get their names attached to it.